As many as 437 graduates from institutions in Qatar Foundation’s Education City will receive the charge from HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser at Convocation 2013 at Qatar National Convention Centre this evening.

The sixth annual convocation will see the graduates honoured for their achievements before walking through a symbolic door that represents their entrance into a promising future.

The Class of 2013 signifies the highest number of graduates in QF’s history, with 437 students from more than 60 countries. In 2012, the total number of graduates was 373.

The gender gap has also shifted in favour of females this year, with 229 women and 208 men. The Class of 2012 comprised 188 women and 185 men.

The welcome speech will be delivered by Dr Abdulla bin Ali al-Thani, president of Hamad Bin Khalifa University and vice president of education at QF. He will also present the graduates with commemorative convocation rings.

During the past five years there has been a year-on-year increase in the number of graduates, from 122 in 2008 to 191 in 2009, 200 in 2010, 245 in 2011, and 373 last year. And over the past decade, a total of 1,273 graduates have received degrees in various disciplines from universities based in QF.

This year, 35 doctors will graduate from Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) and 115 engineers from Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ), alongside 44 Masters of Business Administration from HEC Paris in Qatar.

In addition, 33 students looking forward to careers in the media will be graduating from Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q), alongside 81 graduates from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q), 43 from Georgetown University – School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Qatar), 42 from the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS), and 44 from Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar (VCUQatar).

The convocation ceremony will be broadcast live on Qatar TV from 7pm. The public can also listen to live Arabic coverage of the event on QF Radio’s 93.7 FM.

Although each university holds its own graduation ceremony, Convocation 2013 brings together undergraduate and postgraduate students from several universities across Qatar Foundation.

In a separate event last Saturday, six exceptional students were granted the ‘President’s Award’ to recognise academic excellence and a deep commitment to making a difference both on campus and within the wider community.

Dr Abdulla al-Thani and Dr Khalid Mohamed al-Khanji, vice president of student affairs, HBKU, presented the winners with certificates of achievement and a commemorative medallion to acknowledge their outstanding efforts.

The achievers were chosen from 20 exceptional students - with a Grade Point Average of 3.6 and above - and nominated by their respective university deans this year. Each of the students completed an extensive application process that demonstrated how they took advantage of everything that their university, HBKU and QF had to offer.